Rapids Battle Through Back-to-Back Weekend Against Pontiacs and Wolves

The Paugan Falls Rapids wrapped up a challenging back-to-back road weekend with games on Friday night in Shawville against the Pontiacs and Saturday night against a rested Madawaska Valley Wolves squad.

Friday Night – Defensive Battle in Shawville

Pontiacs 3, Rapids 2

Friday night’s matchup in Shawville lived up to the rivalry billing, with both teams playing a tight, structured defensive game from start to finish.

The Rapids opened the scoring at 10:36 of the first period when the line of Devon Thompson, Dylan Chamberlin, and Mathieu Menard capitalized on a 3-on-2 rush. Menard drove hard to the net and buried the rebound to give the Rapids an early 1–0 lead.

After a scoreless stretch, the Rapids doubled their lead at 12:56 of the second period. William Venne perfectly deflected a pass from Etienne Champagne, beating the Pontiacs’ netminder high blocker side to make it 2–0. Shawville responded just over a minute later, as Joey Brennan found the back of the net with assists from Julien Pelletier and Julien Arruda, cutting the lead in half.

The Pontiacs tied the game just one minute into the third period when Quinn O’Brien scored, assisted by Loik Plouffe and William Bujold. Later in the period, during the dying moments of a power play, Vincent Maisonneuve banged home a rebound to give Shawville a 3–2 lead.

Despite a strong push in the final minutes, the Rapids couldn’t find the equalizer and fell by a narrow 3–2 margin. Shots were 26–19 in favour of the Pontiacs.

Mathieu Menard was named Rapids Player of the Game after a strong all-around performance, while Aidan Foley was solid between the pipes, stopping 23 of 26 shots.

Saturday Night – Wolves Capitalize Early

Wolves 9, Rapids 4

Saturday night presented a tough test for the Rapids, who were playing their second game in 24 hours against a rested Madawaska Valley Wolves team.

The Wolves came out flying, scoring five goals in the first half of the game to take control early. While the Rapids were slow to find their rhythm, they didn’t fold. At 12:48 of the second period, Ryan Peck finished a feed from Cole Peck, snapping a shot five-hole from the slot to get the Rapids on the board. On the very next shift, Cole Peck picked up a loose puck in front and fired it high glove side, making it 5–2.

Madawaska added a power-play goal from Kelly Summers at 7:06 of the second period to take a 6–2 lead into the third.

Ryan Peck struck again at 12:28 of the third period, firing a low blocker-side shot from the high slot on a 2-on-2 rush for his second of the night. The Wolves responded with three goals in the final five minutes before Eric Skyba added a late goal for the Rapids in the final minute, rounding out the scoring in a 9–4 Wolves win.

Shots on Saturday were 50–34 in favour of Madawaska, as the Rapids were less effective defensively compared to Friday’s outing.

Ryan Peck earned third star honours with a 2-goal, 1-assist performance, while Cole Peck was named second star after posting 1 goal and 2 assists. Conor Ali also made a strong first appearance in his Rapids debut.

Off the Ice

Saturday night’s Food Drive was a big success, with approximately a pickup truck box full of food donations collected, along with cash donations. A big thank you to everyone who supported the initiative and helped make a difference in the community.

Daryl Mayer won the 50/50 draw, taking home $600.
MJ Hodgins won Chuck-a-Puck and Martin McGoey took home the Century 21 Cross Smith Team Puck.

Looking Ahead

The Rapids are back on the road on December 20th when they travel to Arnprior for their final game before Christmas. The team then returns home on December 27th for the annual Holiday Classic, a game that has historically set attendance records and promises another great night at the Gatineau Valley Arena.